Thursday, January 26, 2017

Air France has announced yesterday the resumption flights between Toulouse and Malta IAP in 2017 summer season. Last served in Sep-2015, the service will run between Jul. 25th and Sep. 3rd. Three weekly flights will be operated, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. AF1762 TLS1130 – 1345MLA 320 2AF1762 TLS1150 – 1405MLA 320 7AF1762 TLS1505 – 1720MLA 320 4

Maleth-Aerohas confirmed plans to introduce a maiden pair of dedicated
freighters due later this quarter and early next quarter. The Maltese ACMI/charter operator said in a
statement two Boeing 737-300Fs would arrive in March and April 2017 respectively. They
will be deployed onto regular contract work within Europe.

"We are very pleased to be able to offer to the
market these Boeing 737-300(F) aircraft which build nicely on the foundation of
our existing cargo capabilities using both our managedB737-300(QC) andAn-26 aircraft," M. O’Brien, CEO of Maleth
Aero, commented. "Our strategic business plan provides for the
introduction of a further two units early in Q3/4 2017." (Source: ch-aviation.com, 25-Jan-2017)

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Thomson Airways in the week of Jan. 22th's OAG Schedules Analyser extended its schedule listing into 2017 summer season, including a number of planned new and resumed service from various bases in the U.K. Among the resumed services is the route between Birmingham and Malta IAP, last offered in Oct-2011. The Birmingham-Malta route will be offered between Apr. 6th and Oct. 19th, 2017, with one weekly flight on Mondays. (Source: routesonline.com, 24-Jan-2017)

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

The French Navy D'Estienne d'Orves-class corvette FS Commandant Bouan (F 797) sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. This is her second visit in Valletta Port this month.

The French corvette is presently berthing alongside at Pinto-3 wharf and she's expected to sail from Valletta Port on Friday, Jan. 27th. (24-Jan-2017)

Saturday, January 21, 2017

A Ryanair B737-800 (EI-EPA), performing flight FR-8929 from Malta IAP (Malta) to Liverpool (U.K.) had to return back to Malta IAP this afternoon for technical reasons. The aircraft departed Malta IAP at 1520 and re-landed safely 80-mins after departing. (20-Jan-2017)

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

An Emirates Boeing B777-300ER (A6-EGK), performing flight EK-751 from Dubai IAP (U.A.E.) to Casablanca-Mohammad V IAP (Morocco), had to divert to Malta International Airport this morning due to a medical emergency on board. The B77W continued with its flight to Casablanca after 80-mins on the ground. (17-Jan-2017)

Monday, January 16, 2017

Two
Rafale fighters and a C-135FR refueling tanker of French Air Force operating in
the Mediterranean sea where forced to divert to Malta IAP today
around noon after the tanker reported a problem with one of its four engines.
The Rafales landed first followed 20-mins after by the tanker.
(16-Jan-2017)

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Air Malta and Alitalia have jointly decided to terminate the
talks which would have led to Alitalia becoming a 49% shareholder in Malta's
national carrier.

The two airlines agreed that the current changing landscape
in the airline industry was not ideal for a such a transaction and that both
airlines would concentrate on the current challenges without entering into a
partnership.

Air Malta and Alitalia will continue to
collaborate closely commercially through a recently launched extensive
code-sharing program. (Source: Air Malta & Alitalia, 13-Jan-2017)

The Armed Forces of Malta awarded the Italian
shipbuilder Fincantieri a contract for upgrade works on their offshore patrol
vessel P61. The P61 was
built by Fincantieri ten years ago based on the design of Italian Coast Guard’s
Diciotti-class patrol boat.

The contract
was signed by Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi, Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta,
and Gian Battista Corbetta, head of maintenance, refitting overhaul &
conversion of Fincantieri’s naval services business unit.

According to
the company, work on the vessel will cost an estimated 7 million Euro
and will include upgrades to ship board systems with the aim of improving
the reaction capability of the unit.

Work on the
53-meter-long vessel is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2017 in
Italy, in the Fincantieri shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia), and will last about
6 months. (Source: navaltoday.com, 13-Jan-2017)

Friday, January 13, 2017

The Spanish Navy Santa Maria-class frigate ESPS Navarra (F 85) has sailed into Valletta Port (the Grand Harbour) this morning on a courtesy visit. The Spanish frigate is currently deployed in the Mediterranean and assigned to E.U. Naval Force Mediterranean (Operation Sofia).

Thursday, January 12, 2017

During
its yearly traffic results press conference, Malta International Airport
announced its forecast for 2017, with traffic expected to reach 5.2 million
passenger movements by the end of the year.

2016
ended on a positive note at the airport, with the company reaching an important
5 million passenger milestone in December and exceeding expectations, closing
the year having welcomed 5,080,071 passengers.

Traffic
at Malta IAP grew by a noteworthy 10% over the previous year, on the back of a
4.5% growth in aircraft movements and a 7.6% increase in seat capacity.
Standing at 83.3%, seat load factor for 2016 climbed up by 1.82% over the
previous year, signalling a marked efficiency by airlines to fill up available
seats.

A
monthly break-down of passenger numbers for 2016, in fact, highlights that the
airport succeeded in hosting more guests during its shoulder months than the
previous year, with November and December registering the highest spikes in
passenger numbers of 22.4% and 32.2%, respectively. Featuring 18 new
connections and increased flight frequencies, Malta IAP’s present winter
schedule offers the most connections yet for this period and is expected to
contribute to further growth in the shoulder months.

The top
markets for 2016 were the United Kingdom, which saw an increase of 5.4%, Italy,
which grew by 15%, Germany which grew by 8.0%, France, registering a growth of
5.5%, and Spain, which registered a growth of 26.7%.During
the press conference, the airport also revealed three new routes for summer
2017, namely Bordeaux operated by Volotea and Cluj-Napoca and Katowice operated
by Wizzair. Other interesting developments for the summer months include new
airline Eurowings launching operations from Vienna next April and the first
Malta to Malta Cruise and Fly service by P&O. (Source: maltairport.com, 11-Jan-2017)